ONTHESPOT: Kuta, Bali

By Sebastian Berger

12:01AM BST 08 Oct 2005

Space is not at a premium on the beach that has drawn tourists to Kuta for decades.

Shop staff sit forlornly on the steps of their establishments, not even bothering to try to tempt the few passing foreigners inside. Taxi drivers simply switch on their meters when given an address, rather than demanding twice the official rate.

Hundreds of visitors have fled from Kuta since the suicide bombers struck here and in Jimbaran, a few miles south, claiming 19 victims last weekend.

Of those who remain, many are staying inside their hotels, preferring not to visit the type of bars and restaurants targeted by the terrorists.

Drinks vendors on the beach said the numbers of tourists watching its sunsets were down by about two thirds. "People are still scared," said Willdan Paciolo, one of the vendors, who has dropped his prices. "But I'm optimistic they will come back."

Huge numbers of Balinese depend on tourism for their income, and if visitors do not return they will suffer as they did in 2002 after bombs killed more than 200.

Indonesia's tourism minister, Jero Wacik, who is himself Balinese, said: "I'm not worried. The fact is Bali is very peaceful and very nice to visit. The bombs only occurred in Jimbaran and Kuta. Of course the incidents give us a bad image but I hope this bad image lasts only for one week."

He is right about the physical impact of the blasts, confined to a single street and one beach on an island more than 60 miles wide and 50 miles from north to south.

But their repercussions reach far inland. At Kintamani, overlooking the spectacular crater of Mt Batur, a dormant volcano, and two hours' drive from Kuta, sarong vendors besiege visitors with unusual persistence. Ketut Waci, 40, said she had not sold a single item since the attacks.

At Ku Te Da, a superb fusion restaurant in Seminyak, just north of Kuta, reservations are no longer required.

Mr Wacik believes the increasing frequency of terrorist attacks around the world will mean that the impact of last weekend's bombs on Bali will be considerably less than that of the bombs in 2002. "There are now bombs everywhere," he said.

Some visitors agree. On the beach at Jimbaran, where two seafront cafes were bombed, Olivier Dragon, 24, a French construction worker, said: "I'm from the Basque country so I'm used to bombs. I will come back; I'm not going to stop living because of that."

But how many will think likewise? While the London and Madrid attacks were aimed at commuters, in Bali, the targets were tourist destinations.

Iwan Kurniawan, 31, sat morosely at the back of his souvenir shop on Kuta Beach Street, unable to raise a smile: "Maybe one bomb is OK, but this is two times," he said. "Before, the government said, 'Bali's safe, Bali's safe', and now boom! Maybe tourists won't believe the police and intelligence now."